The Outside
by zgirl21
Summary: Slight AU. Bella has a much more difficult time fitting in at her new school. When the ultimate unattainable boy at school takes an unusual interest in her, things quickly go from bad to worse...but after one look at him, Bella doesn't really care...E/B.
1. The Outside

A/N: So, this is my first Twilight fanfic. I've seen the movie twice already (soon to be three times) and I'm basically obsessed more than I ever was before. So, being the fanfiction lover that I am, I figured it was about time I tried my hand at a Twilight fic. I guess what I'm trying to say is: please be kind, be encouraging, and don't be afraid to give me some ideas. I'm not going to do anything too out of character, I hope, and it will be slightly AU. Just as a heads-up, the rating on this will probably change later (for reasons that will be apparent in later chapters ;) Anyways, please be nice and leave me a little present after you're finished reading!

THE OUTSIDE

_So how can I ever try to be better?_

_Nobody ever lets me in_

_I can still see you, this ain't the best view_

_On the outside looking in_

_I've been a lot of lonely places_

_I've never been on the outside_

_The Outside—Taylor Swift_

Chapter One

It wasn't just the busy, practically chaotic parking lot that almost made me reach my breaking point. It wasn't just the loud, thumping rhythm of what seemed like thousands of screeching annoying voices. It wasn't just the fact that it was snowing, that the snow was turning into brown mush at my feet. It was all of it. It was high school. Could there be anything worse?

A few people brushed past me as I got out of the rusty old beater Charlie had presented to me the day before. It wasn't difficult to read the faint expression of disapproval on their faces and I winced slightly. I felt a pang of regret at my previous excitement over my truck…I had wanted to be inconspicuous, to just go unnoticed and slide right in but in this thing? No way. Charlie had been so proud, so eager to do something, anything to make this transition easier for me. I knew he had had the best of intentions and that he had gotten a 'deal' on the truck, but now I wished he hadn't even bothered. He might as well have just taken me to school in his patrol car.

Taking one quick last look at my reflection, I sighed. I had spent a little too much effort this morning deciding how to do my hair, what outfit I should wear; it was a strange feeling. In Phoenix, I hadn't really cared much about what people might think of me. I had lived there my whole life; I had a close, core group of friends that I already missed desperately, especially in this moment; it wasn't hard to get along with the other kids at school since we had all known each other our entire lives. But I had never been the new girl before. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, what I was supposed to say, how I was supposed to act in this new school. Everything was completely foreign to me now and I felt horribly, unavoidably out of place.

With a deep breath, I pulled myself together and began the long slosh through the mush in the parking lot. It was now or never and my pride wouldn't allow me to skid back to my truck.

I was inside the doors now. So far so good. No slipping in the parking lot. No making a fool of myself before I even got inside. I looked around, suddenly nervous, for the office and I groaned inwardly. There was line. How could there possibly be a line? It wasn't the first day of school…it was November. Still, I needed my schedule so I dutifully got into line, finally noticing the sign taped inside the office door: "Winter Dance…December 3! Get your tickets here." Well, that explained it. The dance was this weekend and people must be trying to buy tickets at the last minute. Oh well.

The line seemed to move at a snail's pace and I felt my nervousness multiply. I should have gotten to school earlier.

When I finally got up to the front desk, I exhaled loudly. The secretary looked at me expectantly and was already reaching for a pair of tickets when I stopped her quickly.

"Oh no, I don't need tickets. This is my first day and I just need my schedule."

The secretary hesitated, a look of surprise and slight relief flashed across her face. I couldn't help but smile at that. She must be glad to have someone ask for something other than tickets for that dance.

A brief look of recognition crossed over her face before she replied warmly: "Oh, you must be Charlie's girl. Bella, right?"

This startled me. I hadn't realized Charlie had talked to the school before I got here.

"Um, yeah. That's me…I don't want to be late so…"

"Oh sure. Just give me a second here to pull up your schedule."

I forced a smile on my face and couldn't stop myself from glancing at the clock. If she moved a little faster, I had a chance of not being late for my first class. Unfortunately, as I quickly realized, the reason the line had been moving at a snail's pace was because she moved at a snail's pace.

I snatched the paper out of her hand anxiously as I grumbled my thanks and made a beeline for the door. I was going to be late. Crap, crap, crap!

It didn't help that the school was much larger than I had given it credit for. The hallways were almost impossible to navigate, especially since I had no idea where anything was and no familiar face to help me figure it out.

I walked briskly through the hallway, glancing down at my schedule every few seconds trying to make sense of it. There was no homeroom; that was different from my old high school. Wait…did B13 mean a particular floor? Oh no, this was bad. This was very bad. I sighed and without really realizing it, stopped right in the middle of the hallway. Of course, this caused a minor traffic collision and someone recklessly bumped into me.

"Oh…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to, I just have no idea where I'm going." I stammered as I turned around to face the person I had rudely interrupted.

The short, blonde, and painstakingly put together girl glared up at him with annoyance.

"Well, you still need to watch where you're going." She stated as if I had just committed a federal offence.

I wasn't really sure how to respond to that. "Yeah…like I said, sorry about that. Could you tell me where room B13 is?"

The girl looked at me like I had two heads. "B is the second floor."

I felt my face redden under her reproachful stare. It was like she couldn't believe that I didn't know where B13 was and suddenly I felt incredibly stupid.

"Um…thanks. See you around."

The girl exhaled rudely and as she walked past me, I caught her roll her eyes. Nice girl.

This was going to be a long day.

A quick glance at the clock told me what I already knew. I was late for first period.

I broke into a run, practically flying up the stairs but it was no use. I brace myself and tried to enter the room quietly but I think I just ended up calling more attention to myself.

The moment I opened the door, every head in the room popped up to look at me. The looks on their faces ranged from disinterest to disapproval to downright disgust. I even heard a few snickers in the back of the room. Great.

"You must be Isabella Swan." The teacher stated with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Yeah, that's me...um, it's Bella, actually."

He turned abruptly to the rest of the class. "Class, this is Isabella Swan. She's new here from…"

As he turned to me expectantly for a prompt, I winced and groaned inwardly. I was really hoping to avoid the embarrassment of having to introduce myself.

"Phoenix." I replied quickly and immediately went for an empty seat, tripping over a textbook on my way. Again, more snickers. This was going well.

The rest of the class period passed by rather uneventfully, which was fine by me. I raced to my next class, gym, even though I was dreading it. I was not going to be late for two classed in a row, especially on my first day. Still, gym was going to be unpleasant. I didn't have a coordinated bone in my body. If they were laughing at me now…I couldn't even imagine the snickers I would get when they saw me in gym.

Despite my best efforts, I still managed to just barely make it in time. I quickly sat on the floor with the rest of the class and tried not to notice the looks my fellow classmates were giving me. Unfortunately, in my haste I hadn't really noticed who I had sat next to. The girl I had run into just a few hours before scoffed as I settled in next to her. I smiled briefly, making a poor attempt at being friendly but she just rolled her eyes.

After roll was called, Jessica, as I had found out, turned to the girl on her right.

"I'm going to do it at lunch." She said determinedly.

The girl shook her head and grimaced. "Alright, Jess…good luck I guess. The Cullens…they're just so _weird_."

"You just think they're weird because they're all adopted."

"Yeah, but they're together…as in _together_. How is that not weird? They never really talk to anyone, we never see them at any games, they never come to your parties even though you keep asking them…"

"Just because they're a little…anti-social…doesn't automatically mean they're weird."

"Whatever, Jess. How do you know he's even going to say yes?"

Jessica smirked confidently. "He will. I just know it."

Lauren shook her head again. "He doesn't seem to be interested in any of the girls here, Jess…that kind of includes you."

Jessica shot her friend a nasty look. "Are you telling me you think he doesn't like me?"

Lauren immediately went on the defensive. "All I'm saying is that he hasn't asked anybody to the dance…if he wanted to go, don't you think he would have a date by now? We all know every girl in this school would say yes in a heartbeat."

"Whatever. Edward Cullen is going to the dance with me and there's…"

The rest of the conversation was lost on me as they walked away and closer to the volleyball nets that I had pretended not to notice. I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. I hated volleyball with a burning passion. This wasn't going to be pretty.

Somehow, I managed to hit myself in the head with the ball, get slightly tangled in the net, and hit several people with the ball during my poor attempt at a serve…Jessica being one of the them. She didn't fail to throw me several dirty looks after that. Great. Just one more reason for her to hate me.

The end of class couldn't have come soon enough and I was relieved to have lunch next until I realized something. I had nowhere to go and no one to sit with. I had forgotten how important it was to have someone to sit with at lunch, especially on the first day. I'd never had that problem until now. Still, I took a deep breath and dutifully walked through the lunch line, grabbing the first few things I saw. Quickly scanning the room for an empty table, I hurried over to one towards the back of the room. I knew I should have tried to find a different table, one with actual people there for me to talk to but I just couldn't make myself do it.

I ate quickly while taking a mental inventory of all the places in the school I could go to hide out before the lunch period ended with a swift movement to my left caught my eye. A group of people had just sat down in the table across from me and I found myself watching them with strange fascination. There were five of them; the first one I noticed was a tiny girl with short, dark spiky hair. She caught my eyes and smiled warmly. It was easy to smile back at her. Her attention went back to whatever conversation the group had been engrossed in and my eyes wandered over the rest of the group. The girl with spiky hair had her hand entangled with the arm of boy with messy blonde hair. He looked at her lovingly and I felt my heart tug at the gesture. My eyes moved to the pair sitting next to them; I noticed immediately that the girl might as well have been a model and the boy looked like a professional football player; the girl had her hand on the boy's thigh and he wrapped a thick arm around her, placing a kiss on her forehead. The boy sitting next to him, whose face I couldn't see because his back was turned to me, tossed a french fry playfully at the pair. I quickly forgot my lunch, totally absorbed in the group sitting across from me. They seemed so comfortable with each other, so oblivious to everyone else around them. It would be nice to not care, the way they seemed to. I wondered what the secret was.

The much larger boy quickly nudged the boy whose back was turned and pointed. I looked in that direction and my eyes widened when I saw Jessica walking cautiously over to their table. This was going to be good.

"Hey, Edward." I heard her say, her voice dripping with over-the-top sweetness. So this was the famous Edward Cullen. He shifted slightly and I leaned forward in anticipation as his face turned slightly my way.

"Hello, Jessica." Came the curt reply from the smooth voice.

Jessica looked at her feet briefly before looking back at him with some newfound strength. "I was wondering…if you wanted to go to the Winter Dance with me."

I could hear his loud sigh from where I sat. "I'm sorry…I'm actually going to be out of town this weekend. My brothers and I, we're going…hunting."

The much larger boy next to him chuckled a little too loudly but he quickly cleared his thought when the girl with her hand locked to his thigh gave him a stern look.

Jessica nodded but still wasn't going to give up. "Well, couldn't you just go hunting some other time? "

"I already made plans, Jessica." He said more firmly this time.

"Oh." She seemed to finally get the hint and as she turned to leave, I couldn't stop my shoulders from shaking with laughter. The whole thing had just been so pathetic. Her eyes flickered over to my shaking figure and she froze in place, staring openly at me with a lethal mixture of shock and hatred. He seemed to notice her hesitation and turned to see what she was staring at. As his eyes met mine, my mouth opened slightly at the sight. He was the most gorgeous boy I had ever seen. Perfect features, bronze hair wildly in place, but it was his eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. Intensely striking, perceptive, and the strangest color of honey butterscotch. I had never seen anything like it or anyone so perfect. No wonder Jessica was so obsessed with him.

His eyes flicked with surprise as he looked at me, obviously not expecting to see someone laughing at the situation, especially someone he had never seen before. His surprise quickly turned to amusement and then it changed to something else entirely. He looked slightly confused, almost frustrated.

Unfortunately for me, Jessica turned on her heel and stalked over to where I sat.

"Isabella? That's your name right? Is something funny?" She spat out venomously.

She didn't wait for my answer. "Well, whoever you are, you'd better watch your back."

With that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked off. I swallowed nervously and for some reason, my gaze flipped back to the table across from me. All five pairs of eyes seemed to rest on me.

The moment our eyes met, Edward's gaze immediately shifted to Jessica's retreating form, a dark expression flashing across his face. His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch her walk away and then his eyes were back on mine; his expression was slightly softer now, almost filled with pity and regret. I didn't know what to make of it.

In a split second, he turned back around.

Suddenly, I was very aware of the situation around me. Jessica was back in her seat across the room and she was practically shaking as she glowered at me. I glanced around and noticed that more people were staring at me. Jessica leaned over to her friend, Lauren, and whispered something to her. Then both girls shot me evil glares.

That was all I needed. I grabbed my tray with shaky hands, almost knocking over several chairs in the process and practically sprinted into the bathroom, my haven for from all the watching eyes for the rest of the lunch period.


	2. For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic

THE OUTSIDE

_Just talk yourself up and tear yourself down_

_You've hit your one wall now find a way around_

_Well, what's the problem?_

_You got a lot of nerve_

_So what did you think I would say?_

_No, you can't run away_

_No, you can't run away_

_I'm not so naïve--- my sorry eyes can see_

_The way you fight shy of almost everything_

_Well, if you give up then you'll get what you deserve_

--Paramore

Chapter Two

It took me a moment to recognize the person staring back at me in the bathroom mirror. My eyes were wide and slightly sunken in. I was pale and my whole body felt…cold. I looked scared out of my mind. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this way. To be scared of the kids at school, to not want to face the outside, the unknown…was as foreign as the Arctic region to me. Still, I was completely victim to my overwhelming feeling of dread. I shuddered when I heard the bell ring. No…no…I'm not ready to go out there yet. I didn't want to have to see their faces, to hear their whispers behind my faces. It was so stupid. Those people didn't even know anything about me and yet they were so quick to judge. It wasn't fair. I shook my head, desperately trying to fight the tears that threatened to slip down my cheeks. I will not cry. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to let them get the best of me. I'm stronger than that.

I nodded to my reflection in the mirror. You can do this. You're not going to run to the truck. You're going to go to your next class. And you're going to do it with your head held high. I nodded again. You can do this. My new mantra.

I smiled to myself as I thought it again. You can do this. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left the bathroom before my resolve had a chance to waver. Next stop: Biology.

As I left the bathroom, I was careful to keep my head down, to not let anyone see my face because I was afraid of what my expression looked like. But as I grew closer to that familiar table, I lifted my head. They were still watching me. It was as if their five pairs of eyes had never left me. It was unsettling. As I walked closer, each pair of eyes quickly looked away…except for one. I found it hard to look at anything else. His eyes were just so…different…so magnetic…I couldn't look away. The closer I got, the more I realized that our feelings weren't exactly mutual. His gaze said something entirely different than mine must have. He looked conflicted and frustrated by something. He seemed to lean more in my direction the closer I came. And the closer I got, the more it seemed his frustration grew. His eyes never left mine.

It didn't matter why he was staring at me. I couldn't make myself look away from his penetrating, strange eyes. And suddenly, it didn't matter anymore that everyone else seemed to be starting at me too. All I could see were his eyes.

Even when I was past his table, I could still feel that unsettling gaze at my back.

I was still reeling from the whole strange experience by the time I found my Biology lab. Sighing with relief that I had more than enough time to spare, I took the first seat I saw. As I slid in, the girl already sitting there looked up and squinted slightly through her chic glasses.

"Oh…I already have a lab partner…sorry. I'm Angela…you must be the new girl everyone's been talking about…Isabella, right?" She smiled kindly.

"Yeah," I replied, trying my best to put on a brave face. "It's Bella, actually…I'll just find somewhere else to sit."

She smiled sympathetically and nodded. "Sorry, again. Nice to meet you, Bella."

The best I could muster was a weak smile in response. She had been nice but that it didn't make it any less uncomfortable. I guess I would just have to wait for the teacher to direct me where to sit. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait long.

The short, curly-haired teacher noticed me almost immediately. "Ah! You must be Isabella Swan. You're going to be sitting right over there…your partner's name is Edward Cullen."

The teacher pointed to the seat he was talking about but I now needed no direction. There he sat. The most fascinatingly and beautifully strange boy I had ever seen. My lab partner. Suddenly, my knees felt weak as I walked over to my new lab partner. The fact that he was staring at me with those same magnetic eyes as before didn't help things either.

As soon as he realized I was walking towards him, he quickly looked away and opened the notebook strewn in front of him. When I finally stood next to him, it was by some divine intervention that I didn't trip and fall on my face right in front of him. He abruptly stood, gathered his papers and books, and slid into the chair next to the wall, giving me the seat he had previously occupied. I put my books down on the table gingerly, slid in my seat a little too awkwardly, and of course, knocked over a few books in the process. Before I even had a chance to think about leaning down to pick them up, a pale arm shot out and swooped them up with one swift motion.

He placed them gracefully on the table in front of me, a lop-sided grin on his handsome face.

"Hello. My name is Edward Cullen. You're Bella?"

I nodded, too stunned by the smooth quality of his voice to form a response. For some reason, I hadn't expected the sound to be so…seductive. And then a realization dawned on me through the haze.

"What did you say?" I blurted out, not even realizing what it sounded like.

His brow furrowed immediately with confusion. "I'm sorry…I'm not sure what…"

I shook my head quickly, suddenly aware of my error. He must think I'm crazy. Or bipolar.

"No…sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude or anything. It's just that…everyone's been calling me by my full name today. I've had to tell everyone to call me Bella…you just surprised me by actually getting it right."

A look of frustration flashed across his perfect features. Then it smoothed out just as quickly as it came.

"Oh." Was the only reply I got.

While the teacher described the lab for the day, I was mentally kicking myself. I had just made a complete fool of myself. He must think I'm mentally handicapped or something. But still, I couldn't help but notice the way he seemed to lean towards me. His body shifted in accordance with all my movements in my seat and it almost seemed as if he was trying to discreetly move his chair closer to me every chance he had.

My head was still reeling when Edward began setting up the microscope for our lab.

"Ladies first?" He gestured politely toward the microscope.

I smiled weakly, now extremely grateful that I had already done this lab back in Phoenix. Maybe now he wouldn't think I was a total idiot. I took a quick glance at the slide and gingerly pushed it back towards Edward.

"Prophase."

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Mind if I check?"

I nodded and he smirked as he took his own look at the slide. When he looked back up to meet my eyes, he wasn't so smug. "You're right. Prophase."

"I..uh…I did this lab already in Phoenix."

His honey-colored eyes were filled with understanding now and he nodded.

"Ah…well, that explains it." He replied lightly.

A few awkward moments passed between us before he finally spoke again.

"So…how do you like the weather here in Forks?"

I couldn't stop the look of confusion and brief annoyance that must have crossed my face. "You're asking me about the weather?"

He bit his bottom lip nervously and flashed that lop-sided grin again. "Yeah…I guess I am."

I laughed lightly. "Well, since you're asking, I don't really like this weather. I think I hate this snow more than I hate rain…you know, the kind that turns to slosh and mush? Anything…cold…I just don't like it."

A short laugh escaped his lips and he bit his lip again to stop his laughter.

"What?" I asked, worried that I had said something wrong.

"It's nothing," he said, his smile reaching all the way to his eyes. "Nothing…"

He continued to smile as we worked quickly through the rest of the lab, as if he was laughing at some private joke that I would never be in on. By the time we had finished, we still had almost twenty minutes left of class. Instead of just lingering in awkward silence, he surprised me; not just by starting a conversation but by looking as if he was genuinely interested.

"So…Bella from Phoenix, what brings you all the way to Forks?" He began, his voice was like velvet.

I laughed in spite of myself before I replied. "I'm living here with my dad. You've probably heard of him…Chief Swan."

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've heard the name somewhere."

I laughed again, surprised at how easy it was to talk to him, especially since I'd had trouble talking to people all day. With Edward, it was effortless.

"My mom remarried and I moved here to stay with my dad."

He must have caught the change in my tone and asked immediately: "You don't like the guy?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, it's not that…it's really not that complicated."

He chuckled again. "I'm sure I can keep up."

I nodded and as I spoke, his eyes seemed to absorb right into mine. "I guess I just miss her…my mom…Phil travels a lot for baseball and at first she stayed home with me but it was making her unhappy. I decided it was time to stay with my dad for awhile so she could be with Phil."

"But now you're unhappy." It was more of a statement than a question and for a brief moment, it felt like his eyes were staring beyond my exterior and looking directly into my soul.

"It's not that I'm unhappy with Charlie. I mean, he's great and all…and he's trying…really hard. I think I'm just going to have to get used to all this…"

His face flashed with confusion again. "Get used to this? Oh…you mean, being in a new school, new people…"

"Yeah."

Now, that look of pity that I had seen in the lunch room was back. "People aren't treating you very well."

Again, it was more of a statement than a question. Had the scene in the lunch room really been that obvious? What was everyone in this school saying about me?

Not wanting to admit that my first day been more or less a failure, I just shrugged my shoulders. "I suppose things will get better eventually. It's not like I expected to know everyone on the first day."

He nodded, but there was something else in his eyes, something that I couldn't place. "But everyone else, they're making it difficult, aren't they? Especially Jessica…"

I laughed at the name and he looked back at me with equal humor. "That was certainly something else at lunch today…I can't say I wasn't surprised…"

Now he was looking at me with confusion.

"I heard her talking to her friend in gym class right before lunch," I quickly explained. "She was saying something about planning to ask you to the dance and her friend was trying to talk her out of it. I'm pretty sure her friend, I think her name was Lauren, was absolutely positive that you weren't interested."

He was laughing now and he passed a hand over his face. "Yeah…let's just say I've done everything _not_ to encourage her but …"

"She just doesn't get the hint." I finished for him.

He nodded with that lop-sided grin that I was increasingly becoming fascinated with. "Exactly."

"Well, I think you made it pretty obvious today."

He nodded, but this time, his face had a more serious edge to it. "I did but she's probably not going to give up anytime soon. You know, you should probably keep your distance from her…she's fairly harmless but when it comes to other girls that get in her way, well, let's just say you wouldn't want to get on her bad side."

I bit my lip nervously, fearing that I was already on her bad side. All of my encounters with her hadn't been exactly…positive. Still, I smiled weakly back at Edward, grateful that at least someone at this school was willing to look out for me. Especially him.

"Well," he continued, obviously noticing my uneasiness. "She's just an immature little girl. Nothing too scary about her, I'd say. I just meant…sometimes she can be a little ruthless when she wants to be."

I nodded in understanding. "Well, I'll make sure to 'watch my back'."

He smirked and shook his head.

Before I could stop myself, I leaned in a little closer to him and lowering my voice, asked, "If I ask you something, will you promise to tell me the truth?"

Something flashed across his honey-colored eyes that I couldn't quite place. Was it fear? Nervousness? I wasn't sure and I definitely had no idea what the reason behind it was. He probably was just uncomfortable with my sudden closeness. Instead of acknowledging this, I held my stance and took my cue when he finally nodded.

"Are you really going hunting this weekend or was that just an excuse for getting out of going to the dance?"

A sharp laugh escaped his lips and his shoulders started shaking he was laughing so hard.

"Yes," he managed to get out between laughs. "I'm really going hunting."

I chuckled lightly under my breath. "Well, at least you didn't have to lie to her."

He nodded again, and now seemed a little more in control of his fits of laughter. "Well, even if I wasn't going hunting…"

I raised my eyebrows as he trailed off.

"You'd still be going hunting?" I offered.

He smirked and nodded, his gorgeous smile reaching his eyes again. "Something like that, yes."

Just like that, the bell rang and my time with my new lab partner was over for the day. I quickly gathered my book and notebook, trying not to notice his closeness behind me as I made my way through the door. When my eyes fell across Jessica's friend, Lauren, my heart skipped a beat. I hadn't even noticed her. In fact, I hadn't really noticed anything during the whole class period. All I had seen and heard was Edward. I felt a little shiver run down my spine when I met her eyes. I thought about what all the laughing Edward and I had done over the course of the period and realized what that must have looked like to her. She was glowering at me; her eyes were a mixture of excitement and hate. I bet she couldn't wait to tell Jessica how the new girl had been flirting with Edward. Great. I guess I could only hope that she hadn't really heard the bulk of our conversation, especially that last part.

When I was finally was in the hallway and away from Lauren's menacing glare, I was surprised to find that Edward was walking at my side now.

"Do you mind if I walk with you to your next class?" He smiled again, gesturing with his hand.

I nodded immediately, a little embarrassed at my eagerness to spend more time with him. "Sure. I actually have to go to my locker first though."

He just nodded and walked with me in silence. When we got to my locker, he still hadn't said anything. He was just watching me and his closeness…well, that I definitely didn't mind. If anyone else, especially someone I had just met, was that close to me, my first reaction would have been thinking: creepy…but Edward? I was pretty sure I would let him get as close to me as he wanted.

There was something about him that was almost…intoxicating.

He opened his mouth to speak, appearing as though he wanted to ask me something when his gaze snapped to something behind me. His face darkened immediately and I quickly turned to see what had caused his mood to change so drastically. Then I saw them.

Up ahead in the hallway, stood the other four members of his table from lunch. The girl with dark spiky hair was, in reality, no larger than a pixie and she smiled happily with a touch of smugness. The other three, however, didn't look so happy. In fact, the blonde-should-be model was practically seething. And the two other boys just stared at Edward with an unsettling mixture of disappointment and distress.

When I looked back at Edward, he quickly met my gaze.

"I…uh…actually have to get going now." He stammered slightly as he stepped around me to head towards the four slightly intimidating figures ahead of him.

When there was a few feet of distance between us, he turned back to me, his face etched with remorse and he waved, the first awkward movement I had seen him make since I had met him. "Goodbye, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded and smiled reassuringly, even though I had no idea what I was trying to reassure him of. I watched as the blonde, statuesque model took a tight grip on Edward's arm and led him further down the hallway, with the others following closely at their heels, until they were out of sight.

A light tap on my shoulder from behind made me practically jump out of my skin. I quickly turned around to see a concerned, albeit excited, Angela in front of me.

"I'm sorry, Bella…I didn't mean to scare you! But you have to tell what was going on with you and Edward Cullen last hour! Did he really walk with you to your locker? Was he really going to walk you to your next class? You know he hardly ever talks to anyone, right? What did he say to you? Please, you have to tell me everything!"

Each sentence seemed to come up out in wild gasps and I couldn't stop myself from laughing. Despite how my first encounter with my new lab partner had ended, I was in a considerable better mood.

"Alright, alright…I'll tell you everything. But can we start walking to class? I don't want to be late again…"


	3. Tongue Tied

A/N--First of all, thanks to everyone that has reviews and added me to your favorites...it means a lot and definitely gives me more motivation to update faster!! I guess I should probably clear something up: in one of the reviews, I was asked about why Edward doesn't seem to be affected by her blood. Well, it is AU...and there's a definitely an explanation for why he's acting the way he is...you're just going to have to wait to find out (but if you read closely, you might be able to figure it out...let me know if you do ;). Everything will be explained in due time...I just don't want to rush anything! Anyway, thanks again and please leave me a review. They make me happy.

THE OUTSIDE

I need a little more luck than a little bit

'Cause every time I get stuck the words won't fit

And every time that I try I get tongue-tied

I need a little good love to get me by

I need a little more luck than a little bit

Like the perfect one no one should get

'Cause every time that I try I get tongue-tied

I need a little good love to get me by

--Faber Drive

Chapter Three

Angela was practically skipping along with me while we walked to class; it was hard not to smile and flush from embarrassment but beneath, I felt a twinge of hope and excitement about something that I wouldn't let my mind fully form.

"Bella…! What did he say? What happened? What were you guys talking about?"

I laughed at her excitement. "Well, I told him about moving here…he asked me how I liked the weather here…"

Her brow immediately creased in confusion and disappointment. "He asked you about the weather?"

I nodded and smirked. "Yeah, he did. But we were talking the whole time…I don't know, it was easy to talk to him."

I realized very quickly, as I spoke, how easy it was to talk to her as well. She was much more welcoming than some of the other people I had had run-ins with that day, save for one. But then again, maybe I was just another source of gossip. I didn't really know this girl and it was probably in my best interest if I didn't tell her everything, especially given the way Lauren had been glaring at me when Biology ended. But then again, she seemed so…sincere. It was difficult for me to believe she had a bad bone in her body, even though I had spoken to her for a few minutes.

"Seriously, though, Bella…you realize that I've never seen Edward Cullen speak to anyone and I mean _anyone_ for longer than two minutes. And you were talking to him for the whole class period..."

I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders, not entirely sure where she was going with this. I couldn't decide what exactly she was implying with all her questioning and unnecessary enthusiasm. So what if he was talking to me? So what if he talked to me for the whole class period? So what if he walked me to my locker? Maybe he was just trying to be nice, considering I was new and didn't know anyone. It didn't mean anything. It didn't matter that he seemed to lean in closer to me every chance he had during Biology or that he had ever so slightly moved his closer to me as we talked. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was no way a guy like that was interested in me.

"Bella? Bella? What are you going to do?" She asked anxiously, now looking around at all the other people in the hallway who had seen what she had. It was then that I realized that once again, I was being stared at.

Just like that, I snapped out of my revelry. "Do about what, Angela?"

She looked at me like I was insane. "About Edward? What are you going to do about Edward?"

I simply shrugged my shoulder. "I'm not sure what there is to do…it's not like we're best friends now or anything, Angela. He was just being nice."

Her face fell in obvious disappointment and I knew I had to do something to keep her talking to me. Besides Edward, she was the only person that had been friendly and genuine today. And that meant something to me.

"So…what's he like?"

Her expression immediately changed and an ecstatic smile flashed across her features.

"He's always very…polite. That's probably the best word to describe him. All the girls at this school are completely in love with him but he has never really been interested in any of them. If he has, he hasn't done anything about it."

I nodded in understanding, remembering what Lauren had said about him, as Angela continued.

"He's really smart too, Bella, I think he's getting a 4.0 right now actually. Him and his family…they all must be geniuses or something."

My interested peaked at the mention of his family. "His family? Does he usually sit with them at lunch?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah, all the time…did you see him at lunch?"

"Yeah, I did. Jessica asked him to the dance and he turned her down."

Angela's mouth dropped open in shock. "No way! That's crazy! I'd heard she was going to ask him but I can't believe she did it in front of everyone at lunch. And he said no! What did he say?"

"Something about going hunting…" I smirked, remembering my earlier conversation with Edward about that subject.

Angela laughed. "Yeah, I think they do that a lot, I think. I'm not surprised though…it seems awfully convenient that he would be going hunting the weekend of the dance."

I nodded impatiently. I wanted to know about his family. "You mentioned his family? What about them?"

Her face took on a slightly mystified edge. "Oh…it's so weird. They were all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife…Dr. Cullen works at the hospital in town and I'm not sure what his wife does. But they're only, like, 27 or 28 and they adopted Edward and his brother and sister and the Hale twins. Let's see, there's Emmett…he's the really huge one…there's Alice…she's the tiny little one with really short hair….they're Edward's brother and sister. Then there's Jasper and Rosalie Hale, supposedly they're twins but I don't think they really look like twins. Rosalie and Emmett have been dating for forever I guess…Alice and Jasper, too. There was so much talk about that when they first came here…"

I could feel my brow furrow. "How long have they been here?"

For some reason, I felt comforted by the fact that I wasn't the only new student everyone was talking about.

"About four or five months I think. They moved here during the summer from Alaska."

"Alaska?" I questioned in surprise; I hadn't been expecting that.

Angela nodded seriously. "Yeah…Alaska. I guess they move around a lot because of Dr. Cullen's work. I heard they lived in South America for a while and Russia too, I think."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know. Hey…I was meaning to ask you…I know it's probably too late for you to find a date to the dance but there's a big party afterwards. You should come!"

I couldn't stop myself from wincing. I hated parties. Even back in Phoenix, I hated parties. The loud music, people acting stupid…they usually just ended up becoming giant make-out parties anyway and I had never found a willing participant for that. Still, regardless of how I felt about parties in general, this particular party could be a good way for me to branch out and make a few friends here. And I knew it would make Charlie happy, even if it involved potential illegal activity. I had a feeling he might look the other way for my sake. Just this once.

"That sounds like fun. Do you think it'll really matter if I don't go to the dance, though? I mean, won't everyone be in their dresses and everthing?"

"Oh no, everyone usually changes after the dance. No one will care, Bella. I'll even pick you up on my way to party with Eric so you don't have to show up by yourself."

I smiled at her kindness. Yeah, I definitely needed to go to this party. "Ok, that sounds good."

I didn't think it was possible for her smile to get any wider but somehow, it did. We kept talking all the way to class and I listened intently as Angela described her dress and dinner plans for the dance. Much to our surprise, we had the next class together. Finally, I felt like I could breathe a little easier now. I guess my first day hadn't been as bad as I thought it was. I had made at least two friends, at least I think I did. As Spanish class dragged on…once again, I had already done what we were supposed to be doing in class that day…Angela chatted comfortably with me as if we had been friends for years. It was a nice feeling.

But when I said goodbye to Angela for the day and walked back toward my locker to get the my backpack, the stares were back. I grimaced at the look on people's faces. For some reason, I had thought I was past it. That everyone would have magically gotten used to me and forgotten I even existed. No such luck. But as I walked through the hall, I noticed something else on the faces of my new classmates. This time, it wasn't confusion, disapproval, or even slight disgust…it was something like curiosity. When my locker finally came in sight, I knew the reason why.

There, leaning casually against my locker like an underwear model, was Edward Cullen.

When his blazing eyes caught mine, he smiled that lop-sided smile that I was now sure would be haunting me in my dreams tonight. He bit his lip nervously and waved a little as I continued my approach towards him. My heart was skipping beats at a dangerous rate and I felt my breath catch in my throat as he continued to watch me with that penetrating stare.

"Hello, Bella." He greeted warmly when I finally arrived at his side. "How was the rest of your day?"

I could only smile. I was sure I was smiling like an idiot but I couldn't find the words to respond coherently. I didn't know what to say.

When I still didn't respond, he frowned, suddenly worried. "Did something happen?"

That snapped me out of my trance. "No…no…nothing like that. I just…I'm…uh…what are you doing here?"

He shrugged and rested his arm against my locker above my head. "I just thought I'd make sure your first day here went alright…and that you made it to your car in one piece."

I raised an eyebrow at his last comment and he laughed in response.

"Oh come on, Bella…from what I've seen you're not exactly light on your feet and we wouldn't want you to slip and hurt yourself in the parking lot with all this mush on the ground…"

He was laughing again but all I was focused on was the way he said "we". I felt myself sway when he leaned in a little closer to me.

"I guess I do tend to be a little accident prone sometimes." I offered, completely willing to say whatever it took to have him really walk me to my car.

He smirked at that and his smile seemed to glitter. "All the more reason to make sure you get home safely then."

He waited patiently while I got my backpack and the books I needed for the night, then he led me through the hallway. All the while, people were staring and whispering to each other. I had no doubt that we were going to be the talk of the entire school the next day but I didn't really care. All that mattered to me was the fact that Edward didn't seem to notice any of it; he was looking at me, not them. Suddenly, Edward's head whipped around and he stopped in the middle of the hallway, causing me to practically knock right into him. I turned to see what had gotten his attention and felt a cold chill run down my spine when my eyes met the hard glares of Jessica and Lauren. No doubt Lauren had filled her friend in on what had happened during Biology. If looks could kill…

Edward's eyes narrowed slightly at Jessica and she quickly looked down in embarrassment. I could see her face flushing with redness from where I stood. In a split second, Edward's features smoothed and he immediately turned back to continue walking. I followed after him, wanting to get out of this school for the day as soon as possible. We continued walking in silence, much like we had earlier when he had walked me to my locker after Biology. But when we drew closer to a shiny silver Volvo with four very familiar, albeit not too pleased, certain family members of his, he slowed down his gait considerably.

The blonde, I was pretty sure this was Rosalie, moved towards us but her muscled animal of a boyfriend, Emmett, held her arm back tightly. The tiny girl, Alice, had the same smug smile on her face as she had had in the hallway and her boyfriend, most likely Jasper, well…he just looked like he was in an immense amount of pain. The whole thing was so strange and somehow off balance to me that all I could do was simply follow Edward and pray for the best.

Suddenly, Alice leapt to my side, seeming to come out of nowhere. "Hi, Bella. I'm Alice."

Her voice was like butter, slightly high-pitched but sweet nonetheless. But my attention quickly fell back to Edward when I heard him groan.

"Alice, please…" He pleaded anxiously.

Her small face contorted with a mixture of disappointment and hurt. She looked from Edward to me than back to Edward. By the time her eyes met mine again, they had a touch of surrender in them. "Alright…see you at home, Edward. It was nice to finally meet you, Bella."

The hard look Edward shot his sister was not lost on me and it only confused me further. He promptly took my arm and led me around the Volvo, past the prodding eyes of his siblings. We stopped right in front of my truck and I wondered how he knew what vehicle I drove let alone where I was parked.

When he turned to face me, I felt a burning that was completely foreign to me. I didn't want to leave him. I didn't want to get in my truck and drive away from him. I wanted to stay…stay with him, stay close to him…I had never felt that before. I swayed again and he reached out a gloved hand to steady me.

"Are you alright?" He asked with concern shining in his eyes.

I nodded, still unable to find words. That seemed to be a pattern when I was around him. And I had only known him for barely a day. This was insane. I was insane. He leaned in closer to me and I felt my eyes close in reflexive reaction. There was something I had been considering ever since I had been invited to the party by Angela. Words that were caught in my throat that I didn't think I would have the courage to ask the most gorgeous boy I had ever seen. There was no way he would be interested anyway. He was watching me with more than just concern now…that frustration I had seen earlier today was back in his butterscotch eyes. I knew he was waiting for me to say something, probably anything, but I still couldn't find the words. Instead, I just nodded again.

Another awkward moment passed. Finally, he smiled that infectious lop-sided grin and gingerly opened the door of my truck for me.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Bella."

"Bye, Edward." I replied clumsily.

I quickly got in the car before I could do or say anything stupid and started the engine as he shut the door for me. He tapped the edge of the door lightly and waved goodbye as I pulled away.

From my rearview mirror, I watched him jog over to his siblings. The blonde immediately reached for Edward and it looked like she had started yelling at him. Her boyfriend quickly got between them and opened the door to the Volvo, gesturing for her to get inside as Edward walked briskly over to the driver's side with a dark expression on his face. It was plainly obvious that the blonde was not happy that Edward had been associating with me. It seemed like all of them were pretty distressed about his interaction with me. Except for Alice.

I quickly shifted my attention to the road and drove the short distance from the school to Charlie's house, my truck sputtering the whole way. When I finally pulled in the driveway, my mouth dropped open a little bit when I noticed Charlie's patrol car was already parked there. I had just figured he would be working late but he must have wanted to be home when I got back from my first day of school.

He stuck his head out the front door as I slammed the truck's door shut.

"Hey Bella…" he started awkwardly.

"Hey Dad…" I replied with equal uneasiness. This was the part I hadn't been sure about…how do you play happy family with someone you barely know? He waited by the door as I walked up sidewalk towards the front door.

"So…" he tried again. "How was your first day? Were they nice to you?"

I laughed in spite of the awkwardness and despite that fact for the most part, they hadn't really been that nice, with three exceptions. Still, I knew I had to humor him. I could tell that he had been worried about me when I left for school in the morning and the last thing I wanted was one more reason for him to feel guilty.

"Yeah, it was fine."

That was the best answer I could muster.

He followed me into the house in silence and waited patiently while I took off my jacket and threw my backpack on the floor. He continued to follow me as I walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to see what I would be cooking for dinner. Finally, my nerves got the best of me and I abruptly turned on my heel to shoot him a warning glance.

"Sorry, Bells. I just…I was worried about you today. You know, starting a new school and everything. I know you said it was fine but you don't…look fine, Bells."

I looked up at him in surprise. That was the most he had really said to me since he had picked me up from the airport a day ago. I felt something tug at my heart as I watched his expression move from disappointment to hurt then back to disappointment. I had to do something to appease him, especially now that I saw my moment to ask about the party.

"Dad…really, it was fine. Actually, I met this really nice girl, Angela. There's a dance on Saturday and well…"

Charlie winced and nodded. "I know, I know…I knew we should have tried to get you a later flight so you could have started school on a Monday but Renee didn't plan things out very well. Starting a new school on a Thursday…what were we thinking? I'm sorry, Bella…I'm sure you wanted to go…"

I nodded quickly, definitely feeling Charlie's frustration about my arrival date. Renee had been so emotional that I had decided to leave and so excited about the prospect of traveling the country with her new husband that she had just booked my flight without giving the date much thought. And so I had started my first day at a new school on a Thursday.

"Actually, I don't really mind about the dance. But…there's a party afterward that Angela invited me to and I think I should go."

Charlie eyed me carefully. "A party, huh? Well, where is this party?"

I froze. "Angela didn't really say and I sort of forgot to ask her but…Dad, it sounds like everyone's going to be there and if I'm being completely honet…it wasn't that easy trying to make friends today…"

He bit his lip in thought and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "I don't know, Bells…I mean, I guess it wouldn't hurt you to get to know some of the kids around here…but you'd better make sure to tell where this party is and when you're going to be home, alright?"

I nodded, a wave of excitement pounding over me. I hadn't expected him to give in so easily. I had been sure I was going to have to try at least a little bit harder than that but I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face.

After that, the night was easier with him. We talked more freely with each other, like a father and daughter should and before I knew it, dinner was over, Charlie was asleep, and I was in my room doing homework. Unfortunately for me, I was having a difficult time concentrating. Every where I looked those eyes I couldn't get out of my head were staring back at me. He was just too…beautiful and intriguing to really think about anything else. The way he kept leaning towards me every time we had been together that day was driving me insane. I closed my eyes and I could almost smell his cologne…but somehow, I didn't think it was cologne that made him smell so good. It was just him.

I kept going over every moment I had spent with him. Every thing he had said. Everything he had done and every moment he had made to get closer to me. I felt my face begin to redden just at the thought. No…there was no way someone like him had any feelings for me that extended beyond friendship. No way.

Still, when I had finally given up on my homework and settled into my bed for the night, I thought about my conversation with Angela about him. She seemed to think that there might be something more and maybe there could be. Why not? Everything he had done that day suggested it was a possibility. And there was a party coming up…maybe…maybe if I asked him he would find a way to change his plans. No…he didn't care about him that way; he had just been trying to be friendly and hospitable to a new person at his school. That's all it was.

That night my dreams were of Edward. His eyes, staring at me, looking straight into my soul, and pulling me in like a moth to the flame were the only image my mind saw.


	4. Alone, Part 1

A/N- Thanks to everyone for reviewing and adding me (and this story) to your favorites!! It really keeps me going, I'm not going to lie. But a few more reviews than what I got for the last chapters would probably inspire me to update a little bit sooner...

THE OUTSIDE

'_Til now, I always got by on my own_

_I never really cared until I met you_

_And now it chills me to the bone_

_How do I get you alone?_

_How do I get you alone?_

--Heart

Chapter Four

When I woke up, my obsession had only doubled in size. He had haunted my dreams…just like I knew he would. My thoughts were only of him and all I could see were his eyes. I shuddered as I swung my legs over the side of my bed and walked into the bathroom to get ready. Only one more day until the party. Maybe if I could just think of something, anything to get him to change his mind about this weekend…I shook my head, almost disgusted with myself. What was I thinking? I had let this go way too far. Besides, I barely knew the guy. It wasn't like he was calling me every night or begging me to go out on a date with him. But still, all I really wanted to do was see Edward. All I really wanted to do was find a way to spend even more time with him. It was pathetic.

I took extra care in deciding what to wear and spent a little more time on my usually unmanageable hair. Today was no exception; my hair was increasingly unruly, as if it wanted to look bad just to spite me, and sometimes, I wondered why I even bothered with it. I surprised myself by searching for my long-forgotten makeup bag that I had kept just for the sake of keeping. I was even more surprised when I applied a touch of mascara and eye liner onto my eyes. I never wore makeup. And I couldn't remember the last time I cared what I wore or what my hair looked like. I was letting my obsession get the best me. Of that I was sure. But that didn't stop my mind from wandering to the possibilities that were in store for me that day. Would he act the same way towards me as he had yesterday? Would he walk me to my locker again? Would he walk me to my truck again after school? Would he decide to go to the party if I found the courage to ask him? I shook my head at my reflection…no use contemplating things that had zero chance of ever happening.

I jogged down the stairs and found Charlie seated at the table with his morning coffee and paper.

"Morning, Bells." He smiled. Ever since our talk the night before, it was much easier to be around him and I was glad the feeling seemed to be mutual. "Breakfast's on the table."

I laughed when I saw the breakfast he was referring to. Milk and cereal.

"It's best I can do." He laughed sheepishly.

"Milk and cereal is fine, Dad." I took a seat next to him and allowed myself to get lost in my thoughts as we ate in silence.

I hurried out the door, barely yelling out my goodbye to Charlie and stopped in my tracks. Charlie had scraped all the snow off my truck for me. I felt a lump in my throat as I considered running back in to thank him or risk running late for school two days in a row. I would thank him later…I just needed to get to school.

By the time my truck was in the school parking lot, my heart was pounding wildly in my chest. I looked around anxiously for the shiny silver Volvo and felt a sharp tug when I couldn't find it. Maybe they were just running late. I got out of the truck, a little too fast, and promptly slipped on the ice, falling clumsily right on my back. As I scrambled through the snow to get back on my feet, I slipped again and this time, I heard snickers behind me. I winced…now people would have even more to talk about…great. Somehow, I managed to get back on my feet and looked around with anxious fear, hoping to high heaven that a certain someone hadn't seen my disgraceful display.

"Trying to make a snow angel?" I heard behind me. I groaned and slowly turned around; for once, hoping that it wasn't him. I had been thinking about him for hours and now when he was finally in front of me again, I had made a complete fool of myself.

He had the same lop-sided grin on his face that had prevented me from having a good night's sleep. His eyes were laughing but they had a touch of concern in them as well. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Are you alright?" He asked, this time the concern was easy to place.

I nodded and laughed in spite of how stupid I felt. "Yeah, I'm fine…I told you, I'm accident prone."

He laughed at that and shook his head. "Now I officially believe you."

I smiled in relief. It hadn't been a total disaster and now I was with him again. In the end, that's all really mattered. I felt the smile wipe clear from my face when I noticed the four figures lingering behind him. I could tell they were being careful to keep their distance and it was plainly obvious that they were not happy that Edward was talking with me yet again. Except for Alice…she waved when our eyes met. She had the same butterscotch-colored eyes as Edward; I hadn't noticed that before.

She was still smiling brightly when she called out: "Hi Bella!"

Edward's head whipped around and he ran a shaky hand over his face. "Alice…"

Before he could stop them, all four of his family members walked over to where we stood. They moved with the same grace that Edward did and even if they didn't look like it, I could definitely tell they were related in some way. Jasper and Emmett eyed me carefully, Rosalie looked like she wanted to pounce, and Alice just kept smiling.

I thought they were going to stop but they just kept walking right past us.

"See you later, Bella!" Alice called as she slid her arm underneath Jasper's.

Edward watched them walk away with a dark scowl on his face. He waited until they were a safe distance away from us before he finally looked down at me. His eyes were a mask.

"I'm sorry about them…they just…well, let's just say they don't really like change." He offered helplessly and the frustration I was quickly becoming accustomed to was back in his penetrating eyes. His eyes pored into me anxiously and I knew he was waiting for me to respond, to tell him that his family hadn't bothered me, and that, no, I didn't think they were the strangest people I had ever laid eyes on.

I decided that in this case, with this boy, the lie was most likely better than the truth. "Don't worry about it, Edward. They seemed…nice."

He laughed sharply and turned his head once more to make sure his siblings were in the building. They were walking through the doors and I noticed that Alice turned around to wave once more. He rolled his eyes at that and turned back to me.

"You don't have to humor me, Bella. I know they must seem very…unfriendly to you."

I shrugged. "Alice seems nice enough."

His jaw tightened at the mention of his sister and a dark look flashed across his face again.

"Alice needs to mind her own business." I heard him mutter under his breath.

I ignored that and promptly followed him toward the building. Just like the day before, we walked in complete silence and with every step he took, he edged closer and closer to me until our arms were only centimeters apart. It didn't matter that we were reeling in stares left and right. Compared to yesterday, this trek to the school from the parking lot was a breeze. I was completely oblivious to everything but the person walking dangerously close to me.

When we passed through the doors, all eyes were on Edward and me. Even though I was ignorant of the unsettling combination of curious and hateful stares, a quick glance at Edward told me he was not. His jaw tightened as his eyes moved from one set of eyes to another but he must have felt me watching him because he relaxed immediately and looked down at me with an easy smile.

We continued walking to my locker and then to my first class before he finally broke his silence. Unfortunately, I already knew what he was going to say: "I'll see you at lunch, then, Bella."

He smiled again, this time it reached his eyes but there was something else shimmering in them as he left me in front of the classroom door. It looked a little like remorse…like he didn't want to leave me anymore than I wanted him to. My heart thumped erratically in my chest at the thought. I shook my head as I walked into the room; it was probably better not to think too much about it. I knew I was only setting myself up for a big disappointment. There was no way someone like him could be interested in someone like me. He had plenty of eager girls to choose from at this school. What on earth would make him choose me?

First hour passed in a blur and before I knew it, I was sitting in gym again, the one class that I was actually dreading. After everything that had happened yesterday, I could only imagine what Jessica and Lauren were planning. Given that it was gym class, I was sure they would have no difficulty finding ways to either embarrass or seriously injure me. I just hoped we weren't playing volleyball again…I would be an awfully easy target.

To my surprise, both girls barely looked at me. I heard some whispers from other people in class about me but Jessica and Lauren stayed clear of me. They kept their heads down and I noticed that they were only talking to each other. Either way, this probably wasn't a good sign. Something was going to happen…I knew it was just a question of when.

Gym flew by with only a few minor self-inflicted injuries. I was still rubbing my head from hitting myself with the ball when I found myself inside the lunch room. The scene was familiar and again, I didn't know where I was supposed to be. Should I sit at the table I was at yesterday? No…it was right across from their table, it would be too awkward if he didn't invite me to sit with them or join me at my own table. I didn't want to force his hand either. I didn't know what to do.

I walked through the lunch line as I mulled over all my options. None of them were too appealing. I didn't want to eat by myself again but I didn't want to make an even bigger fool of myself either and just go over and sit with them uninvited, especially given the uneasiness I felt at the sight of his siblings. As if on cue, Alice popped up at my side as I moved to the next counter.

"Hi Bella." She greeted cheerily.

My mouth dropped open in surprise and I struggled to find the right words to say. She laughed and reached across me for an apple.

"Hi…Alice." I finally stammered out.

She smiled warmly. "I'm glad I finally get to talk to you. Every time I try, he catches it…anyway, how do you like it here so far? You're from Arizona, right?"

I nodded and tried to think of something to say. "Arizona is certainly a lot different than where you're from."

She laughed again and this time, it had a different edge to it. "You're right…talk about polar opposites, right?"

This time, I was laughing with her. I marveled at how easy this was. I could tell that while she most likely had some ulterior motives for attempting to befriend me, I could see underneath that, there was a genuineness that was unmistakable.

"Well," she continued happily. "It's a wonder you've survived this awful weather this long…I'm not sure how I even manage sometimes."

I smiled. She sure was a lot like her brother…starting conversations by talking about the weather…

"You know, I'm really glad you and my brother have become friends," she continued again. This time, my eyes immediately flew to meet hers.

She smiled smugly at my reaction. "You like him."

It wasn't a question. She hadn't even had to ask. She had already known the answer. Before I could respond, her expression abruptly shifted to anxiousness.

"Uh oh," she muttered under her breath. "The cavalry's coming."

I turned to look in the direction she was referring to and felt my breath catch in my throat when I saw Edward making his way through the lunch room towards us. He didn't look happy.

I moved to the check-out line and hurriedly paid for my food, very aware of Edward's almost menacingly glare and Alice's anxiousness behind me. I felt a wave of uneasiness flood over me. Something didn't feel quite right as my attention shifted from Edward's alarming face and Alice's nervous shuffling behind me.

But when I was finished paying for my food, my feet carried my forward as if they had a mind of their own.

In a flash, Jessica was at my side and was purring into my ear: "Why don't you sit with us today, Bella?"

What happened next was a blur.

In one motion, I shook my head at her and continued walking toward Edward, whose dark eyes were fixated on Jessica with a look of alarm and anger. I took a step and immediately felt the obstacle in my path but it was too late to stop it. My foot connected with Lauren's outstretched leg and my body lurched forward. There was nothing I could do. With a loud and almost sickly crash, I toppled to the floor, landing right in my lunch tray. But nothing prepared me for the uproar of laughter that followed.

Immediately, both Alice and Edward were kneeling over me and I felt Edward clasp a firm arm around my waist to help my back to my feet. I looked down and closed my eyes to hide my horror at sight of my body. I was completely covered in my lunch. If it had been anywhere else, at any other school, I might have been able to see the humor in the situation. But not here. Not now. Not in this place. And not with these people. Somehow, I managed to block out the loud laughter that surrounded me as Edward practically carried me to the nearest bathroom. When we were at the door, he allowed Alice to take hold of me and help me through the door.

"Oh Bella…Bella, can you hear me? Are you alright? Please…you're shaking, Bella…" she asked frantically. I looked down at my hands and my eyes widened. She was right; I was shaking. I wasn't sure if it was from shock or embarrassment or even shock from the embarrassment of what had happened.

"I…I don't…" I managed to stammer as I felt Alice take a wet paper towel to the front of my shirt.

I don't know how it happened, but somehow I managed to compose myself enough to give Alice a coherent answer.

"I'm fine, Alice…I just…need to find another shirt."

She looked up at me with a warm smile. "Do you have any extra ones in your gym locker?"

I nodded and she quickly led me out of the bathroom and right past Edward, who had been leaning against the nearest wall, obviously waiting anxiously for us to emerge.

"Alice, where are you going?" He called as we breezed past him.

"To find Bella another shirt." She replied cheerily without turning to look at him.

She led me all the way into the locker room and I started changing with trembling hands, thanking God that I had put a few sets of clothes in my gym locker.

I heard Alice shifting nervously around me before I heard her voice behind me: "I'm sorry that happened, Bella."

I just shook my head. "It doesn't matter. No big deal, you know?"

Alice smiled grimly and moved a step closer. "I know but it can't be…easy…for you here. I'm sure you know already but there's been lots of talk about you and my brother. I know it's not true and you know it's not true but that doesn't stop the gossip mongers from feeding into it."

I let out an exasperated huff. "It's not even like that. He's just being a nice guy and it's not my fault that he wants nothing to do with Jessica."

She bit her lip as she continued to watch me. "You know, Bella, if I was you, I wouldn't really pay attention to what people are saying. Edward is…a complicated person but he would never do anything to hurt anyone or lead them on unnecessarily if he…" she trailed off at that and bit her lip again. I guess she had decided she'd said too much.

When I was finished changing, we started walking back towards the locker room door. Before opening the door, I did my best to put on a brave face and force a smile in Alice's direction. "Thanks for everything, Alice. You really didn't have to do this but I'm glad you did."

She smiled again. It reached all the way to her butterscotch-colored eyes, so strange and so much like Edward's.

"I am, too." She replied softly.

I smiled again; this time it felt more genuine. Edward was waiting for us outside the door and when we emerged, his head shot up with a mixture of guilt and worry shining in his eyes. I noticed some sort of wordless communication between Edward and Alice and before long, Alice waved goodbye and danced off to meet up with Jasper.

I felt Edward place his hand on the small of my back and wordlessly lead me towards Biology. The silence was deafeningly and I felt almost afraid at the tenseness of his face, even though I knew this wasn't directed at me.

Before I knew it, we were in front of Biology.

"Bella!" Both Edward and I turned sharply at my name and I felt him relax at the sight of Angela. He nodded to me and abruptly walked into class, leaving me behind with her.

She was immediately at me side and watching me with worried eyes. "Are you alright? I heard what…happened. You weren't hurt or anything were you?"

I shook my head distractedly. I felt odd now that Edward wasn't with me.

"I just can't believe they would stoop that low…they're so immature and stupid…" she continued in a low whisper.

I nodded and tried to get a look at where Edward was sitting in the classroom. I sighed when I didn't see him. It was funny that, after only one day, I felt incomplete without his presence.

Angela seemed to notice where my eyes were roaming and she chuckled. "Hey…you're still going to come to the party tomorrow, right? Did you talk to your Dad?"

I nodded and sent a reassuring smile her way. "Yeah, why not?"

She laughed at that, obviously happy that I wasn't too shaken from the day's events.

"You know," she continued with a sly grin. "You should ask him to come to the party. I bet he would…if you asked."

I laughed spitefully and shook my head. "He's going hunting, remember?"

"Yeah but how do you know he's going all weekend? What if he'll be back in time to make it to the party?"

She had me there.

Before I could respond, the bell rang and we hurried inside. The minute I walked into class, a hushed whisper rushed through the room. It was suddenly very quiet and I heard a few giggles as I sat down next to a very somber-looking Edward. He didn't speak to me for the rest of the class period. When class ended, he walked with me to my locker and gave me a quick smile before he left me at my last class for the day. He still didn't say a word.

We were walking towards my truck when he finally spoke.

"Bella…" he trailed off when my eyes flew to his guilt-filled eyes in surprise.

"I'm sorry about what happened today," he continued. "I should have taken you home."

I just shook my head. "It really doesn't matter, Edward. I don't get why everyone is making such a big deal out of this. So I tripped and fell and got food all over me. It's not the first time I made a fool of myself in front of a bunch people and it's not going to be the last."

I saw a smile tug at the corner of his lips and I felt better. He had been driving me crazy since lunch. I was grateful for his closeness, for his attentiveness, but his silence had been making me restless.

As we neared my truck, the looks and stares from the people around us were hard not to notice. This was getting ridiculous. We walked right past Edward's Volvo and I tried desperately not to look at the four figures watching us carefully. But by the time we were standing in front of my truck, there was only one thing I could think about. It was the same thought that had been reigning my dreams and my mind when I woke up this morning. My mind wandered back to my conversation with Angela and I found renewed strength in the moment. I didn't care if he said yes out of pity or obligation. All I cared about was that he said yes.

I looked up at him, prepared to finally speak the words that I hadn't been able to get out when my throat went dry. The sight of him made my resolve quickly lose steam. Why was someone like him wasting his time with me? Why did he care what happened to me? Why was he even here, walking me to my car and escorting me from class to class? There was no way someone like him would ever want anything more from me than friendship. Still, when I looked at him, I felt like I was on fire. Suddenly, I had the same urge I had had yesterday before we parted. I didn't want to be away from him. I didn't want to get in my truck and drive away. I didn't want any distance between us. I just wanted to be with him.

But the look in his eyes, it had to be the same burning that I felt. It had to be. What else could it possibly be? That thought gave me renewed strength and soon, the words came tumbling out by their own accord.

"Edward?"

His eyes were still poring into mine and I saw something flicker across them when I said his name. He nodded and bit his lip.

"This is going to sound really stupid but…" I trailed off.

"Try me." He prompted. His eyes continued to burn into mine.

"Well…I know you said you were going hunting this weekend and I know you probably can't rearrange your plans very easily but I was wondering…if you heard about the party that's after the dance? I guess everyone's going and…"

I trailed off again and I watched in nervous agitation as he seemed to consider what I'd said.

Finally, he asked carefully: "Are you going to the party?"

I definitely responded a little too quickly. "Yeah…yeah, I am. I'm going with Angela."

He nodded slowly, as if he were weighing all his options. He sighed and turned his head to look at his siblings, who were still watching our every move from the shiny Volvo.

"And it's at Eric's tomorrow, right?"

So he did know about the party. He must have known if he knew where it was. I hadn't even a chance to find that out. I nodded eagerly in response, too excited by the possibility that he might actually decide to show up to allow myself to speak.

He bit his lip and cast another cautious glance toward the Volvo. "Well, I think I might be able to work something out with my brothers. I should be able to be back in time for the party."

I felt my eyebrows raise in surprise and I resisted the urge to throw my arms around him. Instead, I kept my cool and just smiled. "Ok…then I'll see you there."

He smirked and nodded, the light quickly returning back to his eyes. "You will."

He opened the door for me and helped me gingerly into my car, as if he thought I would break. As I started the engine, he shut the door and waved goodbye before heading back toward the Volvo.

My eyes were trained on my rearview mirror until he was out of sight. I shook my head and forced myself to focus on the road and not on Edward or his family. Instead, I felt my heart begin to race again with excitement. The party was tomorrow. Suddenly, I was extremely grateful to Renee and her poor planning…now starting at a new school on a Thursday didn't seem like such a bad thing…all the less time to have to sit and wait and wring my hands about the party. The events of the day were long gone from my head now. Even though I knew that I was probably the only one who had forgotten, I decided to take Alice's advice and just not care what people thought. All that mattered that the party was tomorrow. And that Edward had agreed to come.

A/N- The next chapter is the long-awaited party, I promise! R/R!!!


	5. Time is Running Out

A/N---Thanks for all the reviews and alerts!!

THE OUTSIDE

_I think I'm drowning, asphyxiating  
I wanna break the spell that you've created_

_you're something beautiful, a contradiction  
I wanna play the game; I want the friction_

_You will be the death of me  
Yeah, you will be the death of me_

_Bury it  
I won't let you bury it  
I won't let you smother it  
I won't let you murder it_

_Our time is running out  
and our time is running out  
You can't push it underground  
We can't stop it screaming out_

_--Muse_

Chapter Five

The house pulsed from the bass of the song that was already giving me a headache. And I wasn't even in the house yet. I bit my lip nervously as I followed Angela and her date, Eric, into his house. They were laughing about how the party had started before the host was even there as we walked up the sidewalk but my mind was definitely elsewhere. I didn't see the shiny silver Volvo anywhere. And from what I could tell, both Jessica and Lauren were already there with their dates as well. The party was already up and kicking and I felt my stomach turn.

Ever since I had parted with Edward the day before, the party had been all I could think about. I had been buzzing all day and I knew I had been driving Charlie completely insane with the way I was pacing around my room above him. What if…no, I wasn't going to let myself go there. He said he was coming. He was going to. If he didn't, I was in for an awfully big let-down. And in spite of my best efforts, the incident in the lunch room was beginning to take its toll. The cruel laughter kept ringing in my ears and I didn't want to think about what might happen at the party. I shuddered a little in my jacket at the thought. No…nothing would happen to me if he was there. I knew that.

With a deep breath, I walked in the door behind Angela and Eric. There was a loud cheer when everyone saw that the host had finally arrived. When I came into view, the cheers stopped. I wasn't surprised and took a deep breath as I walked deeper into the house. I wasn't going to let them get to me. I just wanted to have fun tonight. I just wanted to have fun tonight with Edward. Once he arrived, I knew the rest of the party would just become a blur. Then it would be only him and me. Somewhere. Alone. My head was swimming with the undeveloped fantasy and I quickly pushed the thought from my head. Best not to get ahead of myself.

I was relieved that for the most part, I was left alone by the other partygoers. Everyone seemed to be so excited from the dance and the shots that someone was handing out liberally. I winced a little bit at the sight of the alcohol. Now I felt even more uncomfortable because I had never really gotten to experiment with that quite yet. And I didn't exactly feel like tonight was the night.

Another song came on and there were more cheers. I hadn't heard it before but it seemed like it was popular. There was slightly more grinding than there had been before and I lost sight of Angela in the haze of music and alcohol.

I felt someone come up behind me and I felt the hairs on my arms stand on end. I turned, hoping it was who I thought it was but my face sunk when I saw who was standing by me.

"Hey, Bella," Jessica sneered. "Who let you in?"

I put on a calm, restrained face. "Angela."

Her face fell. She must have thought she could try to get me kicked out the party somehow. Good thing I hitched a ride from the host of the party. "I see…well, did you have any of the punch yet?"

I shook my head, my eyes narrowing as I watched her closely.

"Well," she continued, taking a sip of her drink as she spoke. "It's good. You should have some and maybe you won't act like such a loser for a little while."

My eyebrows raised at that comment. "Oh really? You know, I heard that stuff is supposed to work wonders for jerks like you but it must not be working tonight."

She just rolled her eyes and stalked off. I, on the other hand, was pretty pleased with myself. I moved through the crowd a little further and breathed a sigh of relief when I finally caught sight of Angela and Eric. She waved excitedly to me and closed the distance between us, entwining her arm in mine. I could tell she had had some of the punch.

"Bella! Are you having a good time? You look like you're not having a good time…" Her face fell a little bit but in a flash, a spark came back. "Did you see him yet?"

That got a reaction out of me. "Is he here?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen him but he said he was coming though, right?"

I nodded, raising my voice so she could hear me over the music. "Yeah. I'm sure he'll be here later."

"He will be. I know it, Bella. Hey did you have some of the punch? It's amazing!"

I laughed and shook my head. "Maybe later."

Another song came on and Angela let out a loud squeal. "I love this song! Come on, we have to dance!"

She started pulling me towards where everyone seemed to have convened to grind but I quickly yanked my arm out of her grasp.

"Uh no…that's ok, Angela. I don't really dance so…I'm just going to get some punch."

"Ok!" she yelled. "See you later!"

I nudged my way through the crowded hallway and decided to make a trip around the house to see if he had shown up yet. I knew I really had no intention of getting some of the punch but it was excuse to make myself look like I was having a good time. A party, especially one as rowdy as this, was not exactly my idea of a fun night but I guessed my tastes were a little bit different from everyone else's. I made a circle around the rooms of the house and headed upstairs just in case. He wasn't there yet. I was sure that when he finally did arrive, I would…I don't know…feel it somehow and know where to find him.

An hour later, he still hadn't showed. And I was starting to feel nervous. Then I remembered that, when I was little, when Charlie had went hunting, he was always back before dark. It made perfect sense really. You wouldn't be able to see the deer in the dark. Why would anyone still be hunting or even worse, not back yet from an entire day of hunting? Who was I even kidding…allowing myself to get excited about something that had no chance of ever happening? I was a complete idiot.

Another half hour passed and I resigned myself to pushing through the crowds yet again in search of someone who wasn't going to show. I caught sight of Angela dancing up a storm with Eric and I did my best to wave happily and look like I was having fun. Truth be told, I was having one of the worst nights of my life. I felt so out of place…and so incredibly stupid. It didn't help that people were beginning to notice my laps around the house and everyone, drunken stupor or not, seemed to know why. Now I felt even more pathetic than I did before.

As I finished my last lap through the house, I spotted the punch. What the hell? No time like the present. Besides, it seemed like the best antidote to my current pain. I sauntered bravely over to the table and poured myself a glass, ignoring the stares I was met with. I took a small sip to test the waters…well, it wasn't really what I had been expecting but it wasn't horrible either. I took a bigger sip this time and felt a small flush creep over my cheeks. It was starting to taste better. I took another gulp and before I knew it, I had downed the whole glass. I looked around and shrugged my shoulders. I had nothing better to do and I was starting to feel better. The humiliation I had felt before was now just a dull ache and I decided I needed some more punch to get rid of the ache altogether.

I downed another glass…then another…then another. Before I knew it, the room was spinning. I couldn't see straight and the music, the sounds of people laughing and singing along to the music suddenly faded out and after a while, I didn't hear much of anything. Just a loud buzzing above the murmur of the party. I had hoped that the alcohol would make him magically materialize out of nowhere but it hadn't had the powers I'd wanted it to. Frustrated and clumsy with an unfamiliar haze, I pushed my way through the crowds again but this time, I wasn't letting myself by that stupid again. I was such an idiot and now I was feeling sick…like I was going to throw up and my head was spinning like a helicopter. I had to get out of here. There was no way I was going to let all these people see me throw up. That was just one more thing for them to talk about and I was not about to give them the satisfaction. Besides, I could feel frightened tears begin to well up and I knew I had to get out of there quick. He wasn't coming to rescue me anyway.

I stumbled through the crowd and was careful to avoid Angela's eyes. She would follow me and try to convince to stay. The last thing I wanted to do was stay in that house with everyone watching me, with everyone laughing at me. It was better to just go home and pray to God that Charlie wasn't up waiting for me.

The cool air hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt myself sway from the shock to my senses. I leaned up against a tree to steady myself and that was when the dizziness started. But all I wanted to do was go home and fall asleep. I just had to get there first. I felt like I was walking upside down and everything, the darkness, the trees, the cars parked on the side of the road, all seemed to twist and turn at an alarming rate. I felt my stomach lurch and clutched my head.

It was then that I heard footsteps behind me.

Somehow, I managed to register the imminent danger and I tried to make myself walk a little bit faster…until I realized that I had no idea where I was going. All the houses, all the streets, everything looked the same to me and I cursed Renee and her poor planning. I hadn't been in this town long enough to have the slightest clue where I was going. And now there was someone following me.

I tried to turn to see who the person was but only landed flat on my face in the process. I heard a muffled laugh behind me and then I felt a pair of strong, cold hands come underneath my arms.

"There…I got you…"

The sound of his voice made my blood run cold with terror. The strange, unfamiliar, husky, and incredibly dangerous voice behind me belonged to the person who now held a malicious grip on my waist. I looked up and met the cold, dark eyes of my soon-to-be assailant. He sneered at me with grin, baring his teeth in the process and his smile stretched to the sides of his face.

I started to struggle against his iron grip but he held my arms firmly against my waist.

"Where do you think you're going? There's no where for you to go…"

I felt him pushing me further into the darkness, where no one would be able to see and I closed my eyes with horror when my back came in rough contact with a tree. I took a sharp intake of breath when his hand snaked up my side. I opened my mouth to scream but he quickly covered it with his dirty hand.

"No, no, no…you don't get to put up a fight…just stay very still and it won't hurt…I promise I'll be gentle…" His voice rasped against my ear. I thrashed my head to the side and clamped my teeth down on his hand as hard as I could. As he cried out, I thrust my knee into his groin and threw my elbow into the side of his head.

Then I took off running. Unfortunately, the haze of my fear mixed with the alcohol was an uneasy combination and my weak legs came out from under me. I tumbled to the ground and my head cracked against the pavement. My attacker just laughed and quickly closed the distance between us.

"Aww…I'm touched that you actually tried…that's so sweet…"

Just as he moved to strike, twin headlights came roaring up the curb and skidded to a ferocious stop on the sidewalk, just a few feet from my head. I heard a car door slam and suddenly, there was a dark figure protectively in between me and my attacker.

"I should kill you." The furious voice was vaguely familiar…but my head was too clouded for it to register clearly.

There was a loud crack and suddenly, my attacker was flying into the tree he had pushed me against only moments before. Then my rescuer violently grabbed my attacker by the hair and threw him into the tree on the opposite side of the sidewalk, where he fell motionless on the ground.

Then I felt cold hands on my face and I quickly backed away at the touch.

"Bella? Bella…please, it's me…are you alright?"

Now I knew the voice. The voice I had been longing to hear all night. Edward's distressed eyes were watching me anxiously and I felt him gingerly pick me up and put me gently in the front seat of his car.

Soon, we were speeding far away from the party…far away from the danger I had narrowly escaped. His icy hand touched the side of my face carefully and I tried to turn my head to face him but my head was throbbing too much for that kind of movement.

"No…Bella, just stay still…just stay with me, alright? Don't let yourself fall asleep…talk to me, Bella…say something…please." He pleaded with me.

I clutched my aching head and took a deep breath. "What…what are you doing here?"

This time, I was able to turn enough in my seat to be able to face him and I was shocked at what I saw. His hands had a death grip on the steering wheel, his entire body seemed to be recoiling the fury that was etched on his painfully beautiful face. He was seething. And yet, at the same time, he looked scared out of his mind.

He turned his black eyes toward mine and I almost gasped in surprise at the sight. Still, he managed a small smile for my benefit.

"You invited me to the party, remember?"

I nodded, wincing through the pain. "I know but…I didn't think you were going to come…so I left…how did you find me?"

He was silent for a moment and his brow was furrowed as he kept his black eyes trained on the road. Several long moments passed before he answered. "I got to the party and Angela told me she saw you leave so I went looking for you."

"But how did you find me…I had to have been walking for at least twenty minutes…I had no idea where I was and then that…man…started following me…"

"Please, don't…" he interrupted through his clenched jaw. "Let's talk about something else…distract me…"

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to go back there and rip his throat out if you don't."

I winced again but the pain wasn't enough to stop me from whipping my head towards him.

"Wh…what?" I stammered.

His jaw clenched even tighter. "I told you, Bella…just keep talking. You need to stay awake; you hit your head pretty hard and I need you to…distract me until we get there."

"Where are we going?"

"To my house. My father is a doctor and he'll be able to treat you right away."

"I should call Charlie…he's probably out looking for me by now…"

He nodded carefully. "You're right…but why don't you wait until we get to my house…please, keep talking Bella."

"Ok…um…I drank for the first time tonight and now my head really hurts and I don't…I don't feel good, Edward…"

His head whipped to the side to look at me. "You were drinking? God…Bella! Are you alright? Do you feel like you're going to throw up?"

I shook my head, regardless of the pain it caused me. "No…I just don't feel very good."

He nodded in understanding. "Keep talking."

"Ok…um…" I stammered, trying to think of something to say but my eyelids were threatening to close and my head wouldn't stop its pounding. Finally, I said starting saying the first thoughts that came into my mind. "I…I didn't think you were going to come…I was so excited to see you and I thought maybe we could dance even though I can't dance but then you didn't come and I just felt so…sad…then I tried the punch and it made everything feel a little better…then I had more…then I had some more…then I started to feel sick and then I was mad at you and everyone was staring at me and then all I wanted to do was go home so I left and started walking…"

I started drifting off when Edward shook my shoulders forcefully. "Bella! You have to stay awake a little bit longer. We're almost there, I promise. Keep talking. What happened after you started walking?"

"I…uh…I couldn't find my house…then I tripped and that's when I heard him laughing at me…"

And then I trailed off again, finally falling victim to the enveloping darkness.

A/N--Ok, so I have this plot bunny that bit me and won't let go. So I decided that I can't ignore it anymore. But don't worry, I'm going to keep updating this story, it just probably won't be as often as before because I'll another one going pretty soon. It's a major AU and it's something that I've been kicking around for a while, I just finally decided it was time to write it. So have no fear, this story will continue (especially now that we've gotten to the good part) but I would love it if you checked out my new story as soon as I post it!! R &R!!!


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